Crossing the Line
by Xinthos
Summary: There’s a fine line between right and wrong, but he finds that the closer she comes to it, the harder it is to see. [One Shot] [KakaSaku]


**Summary (This one clarifies a bit more): **Adding those kinds of benefits to a friendship is never a good idea without setting a few ground rules first... too bad she broke the only one they had.

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He was her teacher, and therefore, was involved in no relationship with her, physical or otherwise. Teachers just didn't get involved with students; _everyone_ knows that, and yet she couldn't help but pursue him. It felt hopeless at first, and that's probably why she didn't give up. She thought even though she kept persisting, he would have enough experience and enough logic to stay away. She thought she wouldn't succeed. She thought wrong. 

It had been so utterly simple, the way they started this ritual or whatever you want to call it. The entire team had been eating at a restaurant; one that wasn't serving ramen for once. It was a nice change- to have the whole team there. But of course, good times never last long, and Naruto and Sasuke went off to their own business after excusing themselves politely... or maybe not so politely. Sakura and Kakashi were left alone, which really wouldn't have been that bad if they could've ignored the tremendous amount of tension between them. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but it was a familiar kind of awkward. The kind that always makes something change if you don't ignore it.

She never really did like changes.

Of course, ignoring problems doesn't make them go away. It makes them worse, and the next thing either of them knew they were at a point where they couldn't go back. She slept at his house that night, and didn't stumble out of it until the next day sometime in the late afternoon, not knowing if she was supposed to forget about what happened or try and remember it. She wouldn't have to keep it in mind for long though, since it happened again shortly after. It became something casual, something that just happened without warning, because the tension was always there, and it would build up to the point where they could ignore it no longer and they'd find themselves waking up together the next morning.

It was a silent agreement, and a smart one, to keep this a secret from everyone. What _was_ voiced out loud were the rules for these sporadic events, which was actually only one. It was quite easy to abide by since they constantly told themselves and each other that there was nothing 'romantic' about their relationship.

And they believed it.

It was about two months since they started this, and Sakura couldn't help but notice her own changes in attitude towards what they were doing. Her body suddenly became more sensitive to his touches, her mind more open to his ideas, and she couldn't help but find herself wanting more and more from her sensei. Of course, she kept these thoughts to herself; if she voiced them the entire system would be broken.

Relationships are fragile things, and adding something like casual sex to the equation made it just that much more unstable. This was doomed from the start, but neither of them were ready to admit that. He began thinking about his responsibility as a teacher: he was supposed to make sure that nothing happened to his students. He was supposed to protect them and most certainly was forbidden to get involved with them. The line that had been so clear before, so black and white, suddenly became invisible and now everything was just… gray. It was like everything he ever knew about rules and about right and wrong had suddenly gone out of focus. Like he was _un_learning them.

He didn't particularly like that feeling, but he never was one to listen to his feelings.

It was just another one of those times that she found herself over at his apartment, rapidly undressing and heading towards the bed that she realized that she couldn't really do this anymore. So she stopped, and he stopped, and she left. And all he could do was stare at the spot where she had been two seconds earlier and wonder where she was and why she had gone.

Ever since that night they knew this was a conversation that couldn't be avoided. It might have been smarter to just have it and stop avoiding each other, but it wasn't that easy. It was… 'embarrassing' was probably the right word for it. Still, he had a responsibility as a teacher, though he wasn't so sure it was there anymore. Was he still her teacher? She still called him sensei, after all. Not that he minded much.

"Sakura."

"Kakashi-sensei." She answered him, her voice steady enough to give the illusion that she was calm. She wasn't.

"Are you going to tell me, or do I have to ask?" He asked her.

"Ask what?" She played dumb, trying to avoid the inevitable. He sighed at her.

"Is there a reason why you left?" It was hard to be blunt with a subject like this, but Kakashi was never too concerned with tact. She bit her lip.

"I can't tell you." He frowned at that, not that she could see it.

"Why's that?" She tried not to cry at this point. He couldn't know, but she couldn't keep it a secret from him for long. She never was good at hiding her feelings.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could gather from her when she started crying. Her words were stumbled over; unintelligible.

"Sakura, _what_ are you sorry for?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

"I broke it." She said after gathering enough courage to stop her tears.

"What did you break?" Kakashi asked patiently.

"I'm sorry sensei, I broke the rule." This would only make things more complicated, he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her from continuing. He closed his eyes and waited for her to clarify.

"I fell in love with you."


End file.
